Under Construction
by Rave The Rich
Summary: After Marina has an argument with Jimmy, she does what she can to get back at him, at the expense of a young teen going through conflicting feelings. PurpleVioletShipping, Marina/Kelly. Sexual content, use of guns, some language. Contains QuestShipping.
1. Who Needs You, Anyway?

Under Construction

Who's ready for PurpleVioletShipping? Wait, you don't know what that is? That's the pair of Kelly and Marina (of New Bark Town). QuestShipping is also here, as well. This is yet another side story in the 'All Roads' universe, this one detailing the true relationship between Kelly and Marina and what led the younger Kelly to hate Marina so much. It also includes Kelly coming out to her parents at age thirteen. This is rated for language and strong sexual content. Enjoy!

NOTE: This chapter is, more or less, a prologue for the story as a whole. Kelly isn't in this chapter as it focuses on the reason why Marina isn't traveling with Jimmy during this time. This takes place around the spring of 2006 in the timeline.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan, TV Tokyo, MediaNet and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.

(Prologue- Who Needs You, Anyway?)

* * *

"Look, I really don't wanna argue with you about this!" exclaims Jimmy, who seems to be at his last wits with the person directly across from them at the Viridian City limits.

"Who's arguing?" asks his girlfriend, Marina, who does appear to be very red in the face at the moment.

"You are, and don't try to deny it, either!" Jimmy retaliates, stating what he feels is the obvious.

The two of them have just completed a tour of the Kanto region with Jimmy making it to the top sixteen in the Indigo League and Marina making the final four in the region's Grand Festival. Right now, they are trying to figure out where to go from here. Marina, having heard about the great weather, large cities, shopping destinations and other spots of note, wanted to go to the Hoenn region while Jimmy, having heard of the many different species he hadn't seen before and the unique terrain that came with being a northern region, wanted to go to Sinnoh for the brand new challenge.

"I don't see why we can't just go to Hoenn!" Marina contends. "It's somewhere that neither of us has been before, meaning that both of us start at square one again."

"You call a two-day bus tour through all the various cities in Sinnoh 'being there'?" Jimmy questions. "That's crap, Marina! Bottom line! You don't wanna bear the cold weather and you don't want to get shown up by Sinnoh coordinators because they might actually dress better than you do."

Marina gasps at such a notion coming from a young man who claims to have great feelings for her. "Jimmy, I can't believe you'd say something like that! I never told you that that was the reason I didn't want to go to Sinnoh!"

"Well, you said it first!" he claims. "You talked about how dressing up is nothing for them and they make it into half of their performance, and do you also remember how you doubted yourself, too?"

"I never doubted myself!"

"That's a lie, Marina!" Jimmy affirms. "You know how I feel about that. Even as a star coordinator in Johto and now Kanto, you didn't think that you could keep up?"

"Of course I can, I just don't want to freaking go to Sinnoh, all right?"

"Why are you yelling, huh?" Jimmy questions. "And why are we arguing about this? I don't get it! There will be plenty of time for both of us to tackle both of the regions, after all. Besides, if I recall correctly, weren't you the last one to pick a region for us to go to? Why should that be the case this time?"

"We both agreed to go to the Kanto region, Jimmy!" Marina clarifies for her boyfriend. "It had nothing to do with who had a choice in the matter!"

"Okay, but we agreed to give each other a choice once we left the Johto region, am I right? What happened to that? That's suddenly gone because you feel that your image has somehow been threatened or tarnished?"

"It's not even like that, Jimmy?"

"Then what is it?" he inquires. "Is it just you going back on your word, Marina? Because if you ask me that sounds more like what you're doing."

"I just don't wanna freaking go to Sinnoh, all right?" Marina speaks to Jimmy. "Can't you get that through your skull? It'd make a heck of a lot more sense if we went to Hoenn. It's very near the Kanto region; just one three-hour boat ride and we're there, and there we can actually enjoy the spring and summer months, but apparently, you don't want that! But you know something?"

"What is it, Marina?" he asks, quite annoyed at his girlfriend.

"I'm not gonna stop you from doing what you want to do," she informs him matter-of-factly. "There's really no need for me to do that. It's very apparent that you're gonna do what you want, and that's fine. Just don't expect me to be behind you following along like I'm man's best friend or something like that. There will be time for Sinnoh just like there would be time for the Orange Islands, which you promised we'd go to after we wrapped up business in Johto!"

"Wait a minute! Don't tell me you're gonna pull that rabbit out of your hat!" Jimmy retaliates. "We both know that we missed our boat then, so don't think that you can just bring this back to the forefront and find a way to blame it on me just so you can get your way! If that's the attitude that you're gonna give me then you might as well just go wherever the hell you want!"

"You really mean that?" Marina asks, not shocked by the question.

"Yeah, go on," he affirms, motioning with his arms and pointing in the direction to transportation that will take her to Hoenn. "I won't stop you! I can go through Sinnoh myself. I've done it before in the first half of Johto and I'll do it again for Sinnoh if it means not having to hear your crap!"

"That's how you feel, right?"

"That's _exactly_ how I feel!" Jimmy speaks while walking away and off into another direction to start planning a Sinnoh getaway. "Have a great trip, Marina," he waves, very ticked off at his girlfriend. "Call me when you actually start speaking some sense."

Marina watches dumbfounded as Jimmy goes out of sight without another word. Thinking that the young gentleman would come back concerned because she didn't immediately respond or reconsider, she's quite surprised when something like that doesn't happen and he was apparently serious when he said that he was going his own way. "Okay, if that's the way it's gonna be, goodbye and good riddance."

Out of nowhere, she then hears the voice but doesn't see the body as Jimmy tells her, "Fine! Right back at you, Marina!"

Offended and somewhat disgusted at the comment Jimmy just made, she fires back, saying, "Fine, then! Who needs you, anyway?" After a minute or so, she leaves this fork in the road in a huff, speaking some seedy words in Jimmy's direction that she really doesn't make the spunk to say right to his face.

"That damn…boy," she speaks under her voice while walking to a nearby ferry to get to Littleroot Town, "thinking that I'm trying to tell him how to run his career. I _know_ what we discussed and we already talked about the two of us going to Hoenn so that's on him to figure out." Thinking about it for a second, Marina throws all caution to the wind. While still walking to the port, she makes this final remark about Jimmy that she says out of both anger and honesty.

"That stubborn jackass gets whatever he deserves."

* * *

A/N: This is just the prologue of quite a nice chaptered story that will detail Kelly's unfiltered hate for Marina and why that came about. Next chapter involves Kelly and something important that she must tell her folks.

Until then, this has been Rave!


	2. A Test of Love With Kelly Cruz Marin

Under Construction

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan, TV Tokyo, MediaNet and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 1- A Test of Love With Kelly Cruz-Marin)

* * *

Inconsolable is how people would describe her at that moment. There she was lying down on her bed and looking at a photo of her and her parents…and she was bawling her eyes out with little care.

The picture is from a time that seemed like a lifetime ago as Kelly wore a purple cap and gown with teal tassels to complete the ensemble after defying all of the odds and becoming the youngest graduate in the history of Lilycove City's university with a degree in Biology. Her parents were right there with her to celebrate this momentous occasion in her life and their own. No one felt like they were more on top of the world than Kelly less than a year ago upon graduation. She was making all of her dreams of being a teacher or professor come true and it wasn't taking a long time to make it happen as she has about a year of graduate school remaining.

Planet Earth really was her oyster, but that does no good in explaining why this wonderfully gifted thirteen-year-old is crying in her bed reliving what should be, and was, a joyous time in her life. The room, conservatively laden in many different motifs, provides her with the modern amenities to continue her research without ever having to go too far in her conquest and the iconography by which both her parent's sides of the family were raised with and she carries like a shield of protection and security wherever she goes.

Right now, she feels that she could use it as moments from years and even months back have come back to give her absolute nightmares as she considers what makes Kelly. Her parents have left a lasting impact on her as she figured out something a while back.

_As she was about to head downstairs so her and her parents can go out to dinner, nine-year-old Kelly heard her parents talking about something they just saw on the television._

"_We're supposed to be equal, right?" her mother, Julia, asks._

"_That's the last I heard," answers her husband, Erik._

"_Then why in the world are these queers and dykes asking for special rights, like they need them?" she questions. "What they need is a good slap in the head with a bible and the problem is solved."_

"_Agreed. If we're all equal then there is no need for such baiting. Hey Kelly!" Erik calls up to his only child. "Come on down so we can have dinner!"_

She came down that day and found it hard to even look at her mom and dad throughout their stay at an urban Italian bistro. They asked her about her behavior, but Kelly played it off as just being nerves as far as certain exams coming up in her courses that will determine her college placement.

As if that lie, combined with keeping it up, weren't enough more and more signs pointed to what she thought was the truth and felt was a part of her life. At the same time, however, more indications of her parents' feelings on the matter came to the surface.

_Just after spring break, not even a month ago, it seemed to occur once more. The pattern seemed like clockwork as a break in the shop permitted mother, father and child to watch the news on television and see that the Kanto region has recently allowed couples of the same sex to get married. _

"_How does that make them any more equal and how can God bless that which he deems a sin?" Julia questions._

"_It just isn't the type of rights movement I'd get behind. What with the things the church and the bible say; why do something like this and fool around with something as sacred as marriage? Do you know what I mean, Kelly?"_

She stammered then, not really knowing what to say then before simply agreeing with her father and then heading to her room without another word. For the rest of the night, she sat in her room and prayed, but it seemed to do no good as she didn't feel anything. Kelly got the sense that she wasn't praying hard enough so she begged for some help from somewhere.

Right now, Kelly feels like she could use some guidance and advice from the man upstairs while she sees the small statue of the Virgin Mary placed upon one side of her working desk giving her a unique stare down while she's on her bed. While she still tears up at what she feels like she has to tell her parents, she gets out of her bed and over to Mary. From there, Kelly, desperate as she is for some sort of sign kneels down in front of the representation of the Holy Mother and brings her hands together in a prayer motion.

After saying three Hail Marys, Kelly speaks to the blessed one, saying, "Holy Mary," she sniffles, "before you lies… one of your children in desperate need of counsel from the most divine. The father of our church always tells us, the sheep of your flock, to consult the bible and build a relationship and covenant with our Heavenly Father to cleave to his word. Right now, I find myself in a very difficult place in my life.

"These thoughts inside of me, as I've heard them from the church and my parents and the bible, are a blatant sin and abomination. But," she says, struggling with these next words and nearly breaking back down into a crying fit, "I don't know if I can help it. I've tried, Lord. I've really tried. I just don't see why I'm blessed with such intelligence, but my eyes curse me as I can't stop looking at other girls in that way, and I _know_ it's wrong! Damn it all!" she curses.

"Why do I think like this? Why do I feel like I can't control this? Why do I think I'm a lesbian? What are my parents gonna think? I don't want anyone to hate me for this. This can't be…why does something that's so wrong feel so right to me? Why does this make so much sense when I look back on my life? Am I really that weak to feel this way?" Not feeling anything coming to her and feeling that she's not trying hard enough, Kelly leaves all of her issues with her God, begging to him, saying, "Lord, please give me a sign! I'm desperate!"

Soon after Kelly asks for this help, the good Catholic girl closes her eyes and whisper prayers hoping that her previous prayers would be answered. Then she hears a voice. "Kelly?" The voice isn't particularly familiar to her, so she looks around.

She can't see anyone and starts to get a bit scared. "Who was that?"

"Kelly," the voice says once more. "Just remember that all of us are children of God. Remember that _all_ of us are sinners and fall short of the glory. Your Lord has not turned his back on you and he has not punished you."

"Well, why do I feel like he has?" Kelly inquires, while actually speaking to nobody at that point in time. "So many people that I've trusted for all my life tell me that this is wrong and all these people claim to have my best interests at heart and you're telling me that…being this way is actually okay and always has been? What about the book of Leviticus? 18:22? Does that ring a bell to you?"

"Ah, the King James Version," the voice speaks back to Kelly. "It's yet another interpretation, Kelly, and created under a lot of political auspices and people who had agendas behind their work. It's not unlike the politicians of today. People seem to remember Leviticus 18:22 but forget Matthew 19:12; for there were some born that way in their mother's womb. Four hundred years _can_ be wrong, Kelly, and things can be severely lost in translation, especially when fallible men are at the controls. You know this after learning about the atrocities of slavery, which still take place today, right?"

"Okay, but why do so many people make me feel like crap for this?" she questions while still in tears and consulting a voice without a body to match. "If it's apparently okay for me to feel this way, why do I catch so much hell for it?"

"Ignorance, Kelly," the voice replies. "Ignorance and fear are the reasons for what you just said. You just have to combat it the best way you know how. The caring and compassion that you show for others far outweighs the ignorance, fear and strife of the people that seek nothing but to exploit you and turn you into something that you're not. You have to rise above and show character to combat this hatred and always remember that your god is a god of love. Does that make you feel any better, Kelly?"

"A little," she admits, "but what about my mother and father? They…they love the Lord just like I do, but they've never had many favorable opinions of gay people before. I'm an only child, so that means that the Marin family line would end with me, more or less. I just wish that they can love like Jesus loved; unconditionally. It's even said that he loved his enemies and told his followers to do the same."

"Tell them that," says the voice. "Show them your heart, Kelly, and you will find that they will be more accepting than you think. I have to go now."

"Wh-wait! Show them my heart? How do I do that?" she asks the voice.

"It's time, Kelly. Remember to be strong."

"But how do I show them my heart? Please don't go! You might have been a voice, but you were making so much sense," she admits while starting to tear up once again. Once she realizes that the voice will no longer reply back to her, it's clear that she's on her own and it scares her so much that she wishes she could die. "Oh, what am I gonna do?" she fearfully asks no one in particular.

The tears are loud enough that her bedroom door opens and her mother Julia Marin comes in to see something no parent ever wants to see. Her daughter is there by her desk and bawling while in a very vulnerable position.

"Kelly!" she exclaims, going over to her daughter. Right away, she wants to know, "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

Attempting to wrap Kelly up in a hug, she instead rejects it to the surprise of her mother. "Please don't hate me, mama," Kelly blubbers. "I can't help it. I just can't."

"Can't help what? What are you talking about?" she asks, scared out of her mind at the way her daughter is acting.

"I don't know what to do but tell you, mom," she continues to sob. "I know I'm young, but I know enough to know this is the truth. I'm not like other girls. That's just the truth."

"Kelly, I know that!" her mother exclaims, trying but failing to wrap her daughter into an embrace. "Why are you acting like this, though, and why won't you let me hug you? I'm scared for you!"

"Because I don't want you to let go on instinct, mom," she answers, still not making any sense to her mother. Before she can tell Kelly this, though, the young teen asks her mom a question in the midst of her very apparent sorrow. "Do you love me, mom? I mean it, now. I'm talking unconditional and no matter what, you'd still love me?"

"Yes, Kelly! I do love you!"

"No matter what?"

"Yes; no matter what," she affirms, now crying her eyes out just like her daughter. "Now what's the matter? Just say it!"

"Mom, this has nothing to do with you," Kelly assures Julia. "I never meant to hurt you."

"Just say it, Kelly!"

"I just can't help it and I haven't been able to for many years!"

"Kelly, just say it!" Julia yells, demanding to hear what is causing this visceral reaction from her daughter. Keeping her daughter close, she adds "Whatever it is just tell me and we'll figure something out!"

"Mom! I don't…" struggling with it for a second, she puts all that she's known on the line and says the words many parents just don't expect. "I'm gay. Mom, I'm gay!"

The words were actually yelled by her just like her mom yelled to Kelly to just tell her what was on her mind.

Something very wrong happened, then. It was something that Julia gave her word that she wouldn't do, or at least something that Kelly wished her mother wouldn't do.

Julia let go of Kelly causing her to drop to the ground. The red eyes of Kelly Cruz-Marin looks up to a woman she's not even sure she knows.

But, then again, she had to prepare for this, right? This was a possibility given her background, but her mom just said that she loved her unconditionally. Why, if this were the case, would she ever let Kelly go?

Shaking her head, Kelly laments and throws her mother's words back at her, telling her, "You lied."

Realizing her mistake, Julia tries to apologize as best as she can. "Kelly, I…"

"You said you'd love me no matter what. Why did you let go?" she asks her, screaming at the top of her lungs asking her mom that last question. Before Julia can respond to that, Kelly seems to throw a tantrum, her troubled mind failing to accept the idea that her mom would not be behind her on this and suggest that she's some sort of mental case, even though she's a prodigy to the rest of the world.

Pounding the carpeted floor, though, it's clear that the rest of the world could take a hike at that moment, if not even her mother could stand up against the status quo and support her daughter in this time of need.

Few things matter when that foundation no longer seems to exist.

* * *

A/N: With the pace of this story, I think that you can expect another chapter in less than a week. Kelly's dad, Erik, enters the picture next and the two come to some sort of agreement.

Until then, this is Rave!


	3. Swear to God

Under Construction

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan, TV Tokyo, MediaNet and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 2- Swear to God)

* * *

Parents make mistakes. This is a very clear statement; obvious to the conscious mind, but often dismissed due to alleged common sense. Julia Cruz-Marin falls directly underneath that lengthy category of those who acted before they thought and the result of it is her only offspring, her thirteen-year-old daughter that just opened up about being gay, wailing on the floor of her bedroom and continuously asking why she couldn't keep her promise as her mother.

It played out in her mind many times and the scenario always ended the same way. Kelly would come to either her, her father, Erik, or both of them and ask if they would love her even if things didn't turn out the way either of them expected for their girl. The answer would always be the same the first time or the twentieth; they promised that no matter what, they would love and support their only child.

While most kids would take this with a smile, hug and kiss and move on from there, Kelly was not as satisfied with such meaningful but frequent actions. In fact, most times she would not leave her parents alone and get back to studies without them swearing to God above that they would stick by their word and not leave her no matter what happened in her life. The result was the same as Erik and Julia would both raise their right hands and swear to their Holy Father that they would not leave her to fend for herself before the time came when it was feasible for her to branch out on her own.

At the moment, Julia is kicking herself for forgetting all of this in the midst of her daughter's struggles with feelings that her family has secretly gone through in generation's past and present. She's still with shame, unable to move as she forgot what she had no problem promising her daughter when all was going well. Now, in the center of her struggle, she finds herself unable to lift a finger in assistance. All she sees is her daughter not letting up in her tears and she can't bear to see it. It's making her cry knowing that's she's making Kelly cry. She finds it difficult to even look and covers her face with her right hand, using the yellow bandana in her brunette hair to wipe her tears away for only a second.

She has to make amends for her mistake and there is no better time for that than right here and right now. Kneeling down, the plus-sized retired army veteran shows her soft side that none of her colleagues in the military would ever see. Her mission is to do what she should've done a few minutes before her daughter's breakdown. This time, she gets down on the floor with the young teen and holds Kelly tight, refusing to let go for any reason.

Kelly doesn't want to face the same woman that gave her life. It's a paradox the likes of which she wouldn't wish on her own worst enemy. Julia won't have it though. If it will take a lifetime to rebuild her reputation in the eyes of her daughter and help her understand that her mom and dad will always be there, she'll do it.

"Mom, stop acting like you care," Kelly remarks. "I can't take it if you let me go again."

Shaking her head, she's determined to redeem herself in the eyes of this girl. "Kelly, oh my dear Kelly. I shouldn't have done that to you," she admits while drying the tears of the young girl. "I…it was a shock to hear that, though, you have to admit. I…it's a bad excuse, I know, but I forgot. I honestly forgot the promise that I made to you and God, dear. We talked about this so much I didn't ever think that this would happen."

"You didn't _want_ to think it, mom! That's the problem!" Kelly argues.

"And you're right," Julia quickly agrees. "I didn't ever want to think that my only child had these feelings and seriously thought that she's gay."

"Well, it's happened, mom!" Kelly says. "All the praying that I've done over the past six years has given me all these answers. All of the people that I've spoken to about this in college and the people that I have crushes on make me feel that this is real! So I can say, with absolute confidence, that I'm a lesbian! It's not a choice that I made—how could I make such a profound and life-altering choice like that at such a young age? It doesn't happen that way, mom!" Kelly is giving it her all and doing her best to follow what the voice from earlier told her when it said 'show them your heart'.

"Maybe you're right," Julia says, wanting to learn as much as she can from this time. "A part of me…doesn't want to understand, though. I think that's one of the biggest problems that I have with this outside of what's in the bible."

"Mom, what's in the bible has been nothing but interpretations since it went from language to language," Kelly refutes. "That's not the scholar Kelly Cruz-Marin talking as much as it is the sensible Christian talking, mom, and even if you consider me an enemy of yours after all of this because that's what the bible says, then so be it."

"Now, wait a minute, Kelly…"

"I refuse," Kelly interrupts, "to be kept on a leash for the rest of this life and not know the feeling of what makes me happy even if it's at a determent to my everlasting soul. I think people would do much better in this life if they felt that actually living it wasn't such a terrible, god-awful thing to do!"

"Okay, that's fine if you think that way," Julia says, finding common ground with her daughter, "but why do you get the feeling that because you…really believe this and don't think it's a choice that that suddenly makes you and I enemies? I'm your mother!"

"But that's what the bible says, right, and that's what you follow as your guide mom. Isn't that true?" she throws back at her mother. "It does say that children would turn their back on their own parents and that means that they would become one another's enemies. Does that sort of mirror our own situation at the moment?"

"Well," Julia begins, not really knowing how to answer Kelly's question, "not every case is the same, dear! I—I just…me dropping you when you told me that you're gay was not something that I planned. It was a shock that I didn't expect and I reacted like a shocked person would, but just because I let go doesn't mean that I don't care anymore. Nothing could _possibly _be further from the truth. I came back to get you after all, didn't I?"

"Well…" Before Kelly can answer her mother, another person comes through the doors to enter her room. It's her father, who she would gather hasn't heard any of these daughter-to-mother revelations.

"What's the deal with all of the commotion?" Erik asks as he sees his wife on the floor with Kelly. "I would've come up sooner, but I had to wrap up some business on the phone. Why are both of you on the floor like this?"

"Erik," Julia proceeds to answer, "I really think you should sit down right now."

"No, not until I get some answers!"

"Dad," Kelly opens, standing up to face her father. "I just told mom something…and I really need your support. I need both of you and the three of us to just…sit down and talk about this and pray and speak with other families dealing with this so that we don't end up resenting one another because you might think differently than mom."

"Kelly, what are you talking about?"

She hesitates for a moment before feeling a hand on her shoulder. It's the hand of her mother, who nods in her direction and says, "Just tell him, Kelly. You worked, reminded me of what I once said, and you do indeed have my support. Now just tell your father and we can all sit down and really discuss this."

Her head is down, but only for a second as Kelly looks at the tanned face of her dad and then the cobalt blue eyes before mustering up the courage to do the impossible one more time. "Well, dad, I…just told mom that the likelihood of me bringing home any boys or young men to you is…it will never happen because I don't like guys. They do nothing for me. I'm…gay."

"Oh, my God," Erik exclaims, turning away, but for just a moment. Taking hold of the shoulders of his only child, he asks Kelly, "You're sure about this? You're absolutely sure of what you just said?"

"Yes, dad," Kelly answers, fighting back tears while she does so. "I really am, and I need the support of both of you during this time."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Erik says the words, "You have it, Kelly. I promised you it and that's something I'm gonna stick with."

"I remembered that promise only after Kelly reminded me of all the times she pressed us with it, dear," Julia admits. "I made a mistake of reacting negatively towards it even through her tears and mortification, but not anymore."

Turning her daughter around, Julia also makes this point. "Look, Kelly…there were a lot of things I said in the past out of anger, spite and a lot of ignorance. Over time, though, I think I realized what type of love I should truly show. Jesus never raised a fist or cursed those he disagreed with…and neither should I, _especially_ to my own child."

"I think we all did a lot more…growing over the years," Erik admits. "Now…this stays in the house, all right?"

Julia and Kelly agree to Erik's conditions and he decides to reveal something that only select members of the Marin family, on his side, know. "My brother Sascha has had to deal with some issues with his son. Kelly, he was…frightened because…your cousin, Paul, is in the closet but he thinks that his father doesn't know this. He thinks that Reggie doesn't know this, either."

"How is Uncle Sascha so sure of this, though?"

"He's seen Paul…having oral sex with another boy while they were in his house," Erik admits to the first, second and only people he intends to tell this news to. The shock upon their faces was clear as crystal and his brother's concerns were just the same. "Maylene Traylor, the gym leader in his city, called my brother to tell him that he's used her gym as a place to have sex with other boys threatening her if she told anyone about his actions. I don't want that to be you, Kelly. You don't have to hide anything from us, but because my brother's hands are tied given that Paul doesn't live near him anymore, he doesn't know what to do without violating his trust given that he's told a few people in confidence."

Erik seriously does not want that same thing to happen to Kelly and for her to rebel because she knows no other way to handle her feelings. Tearfully, he says to her "I…it doesn't matter what happens, Kelly. I want you to be happy. Paul isn't happy and because of that, his brother and father aren't happy, either. If they're in that much of a shambles, I'd be a fool to let it happen in my home. So…while I don't particularly agree with it and neither does your mother, I'm not turning my back on you for one second, Kelly. I've put too much time into you to leave you right now when you're clearly hurting. So I'm gonna put as much love into this as I can. I can't say I'll understand everything or agree with everything, but I will keep my heart open for you and only you."

"That's all I ask, dad," Kelly speaks, tears of joy now emanating from her eyes as she truly knows what showing someone their heart will do. At the moment, she has her mom hugging her from behind and her father taking care of her in an embrace from her front. While faith might have caused a momentary but impactful rift in their relationship, it now serves in a role as a guiding force in this family of three going forward in knowing the heartfelt plea of the youngest one.

"Well get through this, Kelly," Erik assures his daughter.

"We have to do it together, though," his wife adds, "so…any suggestions that you might have and we don't think of, bring them up, Kelly. We…we're willing to hear things you have and to better know your standpoint."

"I'm willing to go to counseling, too," Erik admits. "I think family counseling would actually be good. We can let out some steam the right way."

"If it means I get to keep you two here with me as long as I can, I'm willing," Kelly states to both parents. "I swear to God I'll do anything if it means that much to have you two by my side."

"You have us, Kelly. We don't plan on going anywhere," her father assures her while they rock back and forth. That whole afternoon was a sign of it truly being the case in some small way as the three just talked about problems and issues on their mind concerning Kelly's admission, how others will honestly take this news and clarification on certain points that Julia made in past discussions.

It made for fine conversation, but given that Rome was neither built nor destroyed in a day, it could only be the start of something great or gruesome on the horizon for this family in crisis.

* * *

A/N: More to come and the meeting of Kelly and Marina is due soon, as well!

Until next time, I am Rave!


	4. Everything In Perspective

Under Construction

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan, TV Tokyo, MediaNet and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 3- Everything In Perspective)

* * *

Life, at its core, can best be described as a process; several scenarios coming together to form the master blueprint of existence. For Kelly Cruz-Marin, her parents and all other people, life's small moments have processes of their own and have timelines that differ from situation to situation.

The scenario for this family of three can be defined as learning that the youngest member, at age thirteen, recently came out to her folks as a lesbian and having their faith clash with their family unit in perhaps the worst of ways. Despite it all, the three agreed to come to a mutual understanding with Kelly's parents, Erik and Julia, promising to live and learn about their daughter as she does the same for herself after self-outing and Kelly promising to give her folks time to come around and to realize that full and complete acceptance of her orientation on their part may not be feasible given their faith.

Nevertheless, in the month or so that followed Kelly's revelation, the family goes to counseling together. The Marins suggested family counseling with a referred physician, but Kelly would rather work with PFLAG and members of the Gay Christian Network as a means of uniting the two sides through positive integration.

The past five weeks have not been the easiest for either party. Kelly has had to dig deep into her distaste about the words her parents said with respect to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community directly and to their daughter indirectly. She got an open forum to let her mom and dad know how much she was hurt by them even if her folks weren't addressing her during some conversations including those they didn't know she was listening.

Counseling, so far, hasn't been a complete reprimand of Kelly's parents by any means. Kelly's behavior has come into question in their discussions, especially her inability to trust her parents when they tell her something. Family therapy exposed this issue as Kelly spoke about feeling that she didn't have anyone to talk to about homosexuality. Her fellow classmates at university, including those in GLBT organizations, felt that she should've explored the possibility of slowly bringing the issue to the forefront and, upon full admission, imploring that her folks take her as she is. Despite the fact that her schoolmates were a decade or so older than her and had a great deal of experience, she failed to follow through with the advice and it caused much heartache when she felt the time to come out was near.

Kelly has, at this point in time, learned that her judgment in handling the news was quite poor. Had she chose to heed the instructions of those around her instead of just looking to herself as much as she did, much trouble could've been spared. Also, the counselors in their sessions have said that while they applaud the emotion Kelly showed in her confession, they thought that her reaction after never hearing a reply from her mother, negative or positive, was uncalled for and quite rash. They got across to her the fact that by just talking to her parents and asking them how they felt about this, she would better know where they stood and words that were spoken never needed to be said.

After all, despite her apparent misgivings towards her parents and the far out possibility of them accepting her orientation, Kelly has it good. She has free graduate school education, a roof over her head and parents who are going the extra mile by taking part in meetings, like this one on a Tuesday evening at a local community center a few blocks from their home. Tonight, they sit together while listening to a speaker not at a lectern or podium but as part of a circle formed in the middle of the facility.

This person is a woman, appearing to be in her late thirties. Her hair was a sandy brown and she had blue eyes while wearing a sun dress despite the fact that it's later in the afternoon.

"I really…loved my childhood," she says, positively. "My folks were more than just there; they cared. It hadn't ever occurred to me that the world would look at me in a different light, but they sympathized with me when I told them. They said that if I grew a thick skin, protected myself and took myself seriously, then other people would do the same. That's the advice that they gave me when I came out and…to this day, it's worked.

"Realistically, and this is for the kids in here struggling to find answers about whether or not to come out, your folks probably won't be able to take a walk in your shoes. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, asking them to do that may not be very feasible. That's not to say that they aren't empathetic to your concerns or intolerable as much as their thought process and their teachings throughout their times have always spoken to them the credo of 'man and woman'. Their various mediums have also spoken words at this magnitude. For them to wrap their minds around anything else, in most cases, is not something they're interested in, so get involved young people. Involve yourself into the discussion. Get across the fact that you are a person and then, reinforce the fact that you are your parent's child.

"My story…" the lady recognizes, "I understand that it may not be unique and in some respects, it can be boring to hear of a family not being rocked to the core because their only child came out, but my story should be told for anyone out there that is in the same situation as me. Keep going because no matter what, there is still a chance for a relationship to happen with your folks if there's been past issues. Also, be sure to take things one day at a time. Coming out is a process and earning the respect of the people you're coming out to is just the same. I want you all to know that I love you and remember that I am not just someone to talk to. I'm your friend, your sister and, above all else, I am somebody. Thank you."

The message, coming from who she'd later find out to be a mother of three and lawyer named Aida, really stuck with Kelly and her folks, even after a week of life going on day after day. In fact, the daily grind of school and taking care of the shop did more to help this family of three along than most other methods. They had to utilize their time wisely during this period, so they always made it a priority to find a particular time in the day when none of them were busy and just talk. Most days, no one would air out their dirty laundry in the family, and just speak about what was on their mind as non-offensive as it was.

* * *

It worked, or at least, it appeared to work as they provided their own referrals and house calls in the form of restaurant outings, school presentations and just nights breaking out the classic board games just because. Erik, Julia and Kelly couldn't ask for much more given how things began. The fact that none of these three family members snap at each other should be proof of that in Kelly's mind.

'Well, perhaps,' she ponders. It doesn't really matter much when she clearly has a job to do while overseeing the group of ten or twelve people working in front of their respective berry blenders and mixing up their own special concoctions of Pokéblock. Most of these people, ranging in demographic from the very young to middle aged, are getting their jobs done, paying the shop for offering their services and leaving without much of a problem.

Kelly has no reason to think that someone amongst this group is not in need of some assistance and that's why she remains at her post by the door and just behind a cash register. As people continue to leave, the picture becomes increasingly clear; there is only one person in the shop right now and she appears to be quite frustrated while sitting in front of her berry blender with a Wigglytuff next to her. Various colored blocks are by her side and Kelly can only assume that the picky normal type has not gotten her favorite from her trainer.

Seconds later, though, it appears that she has stumbled upon a new formula that this teen only hopes will garner the positive reaction she's been hoping for ever since she entered the berry blending room. Giving a single dark blue block to her Wigglytuff by holding it close to the mouth of the Pokémon, Kelly sees the puff ball take a couple of sniffs before quickly slapping away the apparently offending block.

This leaves the teen girl frustrated to no end as she groans at her apparent ineptness when it comes to making the concentrated snacks. Putting her head down onto the counter, she exclaims, "I don't believe this! What's it gonna take to get this right?"

Kelly feels for the teen girl. She could be someone who came around to her family's shop hearing about how she could give her team an edge somewhere with something. Given that the two of them are the only ones in the room right now and it's getting late in the day as it is, the thirteen-year-old whiz kid decides to lend a helping hand to someone who appears to be very much in need.

It isn't a difficult decision to make for Kelly because her family always stressed great customer service to whoever walks through the doors of the shop. That will never waiver in her mind, but neither will the fact that she will be teaching a fellow trainer the ropes as she goes to graduate school to do this on the Hoenn region's dime.

Her future plans aside, Kelly walks up to the teen and asks her, "What's up? Am I off when I say that I think you're having some issues here with the blender?"

Sighing, she responds, "More than I think you would imagine. It just seems like Little Pink here, that's the name of my Wigglytuff, doesn't care for any of the flavors that I've prepared for her."

"Well, Wigglytuff do tend to be quite picky when it comes to their meals and…lots of other parts of their life. They are what they eat and when most people come to the berry room they go through a lot of trial and error. How many different blocks have you made?"

"Twenty-six block types," she exasperatingly admits. "Can you believe that? Out of twenty-six different formulas and over two hours of making them, I only get scraps." A quick pondering of those words, and she thinks, 'It seems that's all I get these days.'

"Now, that's not exactly true, you know," Kelly says, defending anyone willing to work that hard to get the correct combination. "The key is in not giving up when you know that you're on to something. Edison, to whom we owe the design of our initial light bulbs, worked on over 200 materials to get the right one. You don't think he wanted to quit? I'm sure he did, but the ninety-nine percent perspiration he talked about does something to people. Those who want this badly enough won't be so concerned with time. So…don't feel bad if you don't get it the first time or, in your case, the twenty-sixth. I know a lot of people like to make their own blends because they make it with love and I have no problem with that."

"You don't?" she asks, turning around to face Kelly.

"No, the problem is that you can't go into a game of sword fighting with a Swiss Army knife. But if you give me a few minutes, I'll break open the shop literature and we can get you the proper Pokéblock recipes for all of your Pokémon and you can do them all on your own from here on out. What do you think of that?"

Smirking a little bit because of the pithy remarks from this younger girl, the teen, dressed down in her white shirt and skirt, decides to follow along for now not knowing any other course of action to take outside of asking the shop to make a batch, which is something she doesn't want to have to constantly do. "Well, you've got a bit of feistiness inside of you, which I like. I'd be surprised if you didn't bring the katana to the fight," she admits, however irrelevant it is to her current situation. Nodding her head, though, she says, "Sure. I just don't want to impose as I notice that there isn't much time left before the shop closes…"

"Feistiness?" she momentarily questions. "Well, whatever you say about that and…don't worry about store closings," Kelly assures this adolescent. "I love helping people and something about your determination has me interested in giving you the help, so…just give me a few minutes and I'll break out the books so we can tackle this step by step." As Kelly turns to leave, she realizes she forgot something and exclaims "Oh!" before turning around and stepping up to her impromptu student with her right hand. They shake hands and Kelly introduces herself to the shopper.

"Pleased to meet you and thanks for taking this time," she responds, adding "and it seems as if our families must have a penchant for long names.

"Kelly Cruz-Marin, I'm Marina Kristina Del Raymond."

* * *

A/N: And that's how it will begin. The next chapter has Marina meeting Kelly's folks and these two learning some more about each other. Stay tuned.

Until then, this is Rave!


	5. Curiosities

Under Construction

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan, TV Tokyo, MediaNet and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.

(Chapter 4- Curiosities)

* * *

One late afternoon of learning from a master Pokémon nutritionist in the works blew by very quickly. Marina not only got help for her six Pokémon in hand but also her Pokémon back home in Johto. Working together for so long, Marina and Kelly didn't even notice the latter's folks coming through the door with a few bags of groceries in hand. Although much of dinner for the Marin family does not need much time to be heated or prepared, the trio made it a main objective to be together given the circumstances of the past month or two.

Marina, who to this point on this weekday evening, knew nothing about why the nuclear family went through this ritual, found it to be very welcoming especially after Kelly went about explaining why she was there in the shop beyond normal business hours. The young teen called the coordinator her friend, even though the two have formed more of a student and teacher relationship for nearly three hours. She found the gesture to be curious at face value; she's a small town girl who's found herself in the Hoenn region and its largest city due to a fight with her estranged boyfriend, yet she finds a family with small town values and character right in the midst of Lilycove.

All in all, she got a good feeling about the family as she sat down to enjoy a meal of what the matriarch called 'albino chili' made with a white cheese sauce called Mornay and not having any meat unlike most traditional chilies and instead using vegetables for added flavor. It was essentially a soup, but made for a fine meal and great conversation about Marina's journey and Kelly's background in an hour long dinner.

When it came time for her to go, Marina knew that the Pokémon center would put her up provided she could get there before the eleven o'clock deadline. Finishing up her drink and talking a container with some red velvet cake with her for dessert, she was in somewhat of a hurry considering that the center is a couple of miles away in this large metropolis.

The following morning, Kelly was back at work on a reduced day for her because of her graduate classes that evening. Next to her counter and by her books are several pages of notes from yesterday when she wrote down the instructions for what Marina would need to do in order to get the best out of her Pokémon for coordinating. She could only assume that Marina didn't want to miss curfew and forgot these pages while checking into the center.

Kelly didn't consider it a total loss in any sense because Marina said that she wanted to stay in each city for a few weeks and take in all sights and sounds while preparing for each of her contests.

* * *

As the shop continued its normal weekday hustle and bustle with about three-quarters of the stations filled with people conducting Pokéblock business while she skims through her graduate textbook on a passage concerning the genetic qualities of fruits and vegetables. Knowing from early childhood a rule of thumb not to combine the two food groups during meals, the passage is initially familiar. It loses some of its commonality, however, as it gets into the technical knowledge one would expect the holder of a future Masters of Science to comprehend.

About eight paying customers stop by her register during her study time which runs about ninety minutes. Walking up to her from the shop door, however, was her most frantic and worried customer from a night ago back again with a big smile. Once Kelly realizes who's come back around her way, she eagerly returns the expression while retrieving her notes from yesterday.

"Marina!" she says as she checks the pages to make sure that nothing gets left behind again. "Just a moment. I believe I have something that belongs to you. Uhh…yeah! It's all here for you, too!"

Passing the notes towards the older girl Marina takes them, and takes a bow saying, "Thank you so much for holding onto these, Kelly, and I also want to thank you for all your help yesterday. Not many people would've taken time out for so long just to help one amateur."

"Hey, think nothing of it," Kelly humbly admits. "That's just my philosophy when I go about life and to this point, it's guided me well. If there were someone on the road in need of assistance, then I feel the need to help however I can because I'd want them to do the same for me. If I can only do so much at that point, then I'll point them to where they need to go."

"Wow," Marina speaks, impressed with the younger girl's words. "The world could do with more people like you."

"I owe it all to my God, my family and my friends," she determines. "They are where I get my standards and I couldn't ask for better inspiration."

'All of that makes me feel better about this decision,' Marina concludes. "That's always good to see. Look, Kelly…I came back here not just to get the literature but because I also had to say how impressed I was at all your knowledge of Pokémon nutrition at such a young age. Not once did you ever have to ask your folks for help or go online or anything like that. You practically ran the shop yourself."

"Well, I'm not _quite _at that level right now," Kelly freely admits.

"But you're right there!" Marina replies. "Even when your folks came last night, you never asked them for added guidance."

"Honestly, from this point forward, I hope I don't have to go for them for advice." Weighing how far she wants to go down this path, she decides to take the honest route, admitting, "Marina, I'll level with you right now. I'm what people would call…a child prodigy, but I despise that term. It makes me seem like I'm some snobbish, stuck up little elitist; like I don't belong or I'm different." She sighs and then gets back on point. "Nevertheless, I graduated from college at age twelve and am in graduate school right now to become a researcher and also teach."

As Kelly expected since having to explain to people who wonder how she's doing in junior high school, the girl who never finished grammar school sees this older teen view her up and down in a wide-eyed manner. It's like she told her the true meaning as to why all of us are here and Marina just needs a moment to digest it all.

"You're a college graduate?"

"None of that makes me any better than you, Marina," she interjects having heard all the calls of amazement before and frankly having her fill of it all.

"But you're on the right track! I mean, you are a girl who at age…"

"Thirteen."

"At thirteen you've got it all together!" she declares.

Shaking her head, Kelly interrupts the girl, saying "No. I really don't, Marina. You give me too much credit. It's one thing to see me at my profession for two days; it's another to dig deep in my life and see the real Kelly. If you did you'd see that I have issues, problems, concerns, depression, loneliness...I feel it all and then some. That's why I say that the education is great to have, but it means nothing without application and education doesn't automatically make everything all right. Trust me; I know that all too well. Professionally, you're right, but personally…no."

"You are wise in a sense," Marina figures. "I think I was leaning more towards your professional life but, you're right. We all have problems, but to make such an impact at such a young age…it's a good thing and I really want to learn more about it. That's the other reason why I came back, Kelly. I see this different way of looking at something so fundamental and it's got me curious. I know nutrition is important for star athletes and I'm sure it has to be the same for Pokémon, too."

"It really is and I've seen how trainers can get that extra edge without putting their Pokémon in jeopardy," Kelly adds. "Our courses are fully accredited for anyone who wants to enter the Pokémon sciences and we pride ourselves on going beyond moves and abilities. That's great, but the fact is that food and nourishment is essential to life. If we can work on that aspect of a Pokémon's daily routine then everything else has to benefit! It's like putting high-grade fuel into a luxury sports car. The best fuel combined with proper maintenance will yield the best results."

"And you have courses that explain all of this?"

"Well…a great deal," she concedes. "The ones who know all to most of it are at the doctorate level, which I want to end up in, but we only go up to the graduate level. I'm about a year away from my master's myself and when I get the certification to teach at a university level, I'll go about earning my doctorate so we can start teaching those courses."

"During my time in Lilycove, I want to find out some more about this."

"It's gonna take a lot of commitment, Marina," Kelly says in all honesty while she checks out a young male trainer's order. Speaking to the trainer she hands him the change and asks him to make it a great day. Turning back to Marina "I mean, you came here for coordinating and to take part in our contests and that's great, but…the fact is that courses here run anywhere from six weeks to six months depending on what you want to know and your skill level."

Kelly did not sound like she was trying to discourage Marina from doing this; only saying that it would take up a lot of her time and effort especially while she's entering contests throughout the Hoenn region. If it meant strengthening the relationship between Marina and her Pokémon, however, it was likely worth the sacrifice and the time to understand her Pokémon at this level and earn the fulfillment that came with time spent not just training but growing on her new journey.

That settled the decision for her. "I wanted to take some time and see the sights. I think if I manage my time correctly I can take these courses and learn even more on this journey. I could even be top coordinator again."

"You were a top coordinator?"

"Yeah, in the Johto region."

"So you've already got quite a hand in coordinating. I don't see how you can't get used to monitoring nutrition for your Pokémon. Just pick a course—anything that might tickle your fancy—and you'll be set."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Kelly answers. "It'd be great to have you around. Just stay focused and you can reach whatever goal you set forth for yourself. Follow that credo and you'll get whatever you want or need. My advice to you, though," she adds while getting some literature from a compartment near the register, "don't make any rash decisions about this, though. This is a list of the courses we have, their dates during the spring and summer months, where you can take them and a ton of other information so you're not blindly entering into something you may not be ready for. Take a day or two and let it marinade, come back—in fact, you might want to come back after the contest. That's three days from now; more than enough time for you to find out whatever you want to know about berries and other foods, too."

It was win-win for Marina. She could not envision any problem with this plan. Her education in this vast world would continue and she could further cement her proclaimed position as 'Pokémon Idol' in the grand stage of coordinating.

As she looked closer at the schedule, bidding Kelly farewell until they met again, she also sees classes that meet on a weekly basis and use some element of the internet, but none of them are completely online. Admittedly, this would make the enrichment process a lot easier but she has no choice but to work with what she's got.

It's gotten her this far, so what reason would there be to stop now?

Curiosity will just have to have its way.

* * *

A/N: Look for an update on my profile page soon. I have some explaining to do, I know, but another update to stories is much sooner to come. As far as this story, I would like to have another chapter before mid-August, but I have some other plans, so just stay tuned.

Until then, this is Rave!


End file.
